My mother,Berrell Jensen, has died aged 83. In the 1960s she was one of South Africa’s most prolific metal sculptors. After leaving South Africa in 1968 she went on to develop and manage a craft centre in Donegal, and an adult education centre in Belfast,and two community centres in London. She retired in Ireland, where once more she took up her oxy-acetylene torch, or creating art for a number of public commissions,including one weighing several tons and completed just prior to her first hip operation.
Berrell was born in Potchefstroom, South Africa, and to Phyllis (nee Horwood) and Harry Jay. She graduated from Natal University in Durban with a BSc in social science,supporting herself through university by working as a taxi driver, teacher, and cashier at a drive-in cinema and model. She married Anton Jensen,an MA student and lecturer in psychology, in 1957. She herself began an honours degree in psychology but left to work as a public relations officer for Lever Brothers (now Unilever).
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Source: theguardian.com